Platform-latch for reapers.



L HOLLAND-LUZ.

PLATFORM LATCH FOR HEAPERS.

19%?5g68m I APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, i916.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHED" m: Nan/us PETERS co pw mL/mo" wnsmNamn. o. c.

L. HOLLAND-LETZ. PLATFORM LATCH FOR REAPERS.

' 'APPucmwu HE r .22, i

wg g 55 Patented Aug. 13, 1591-8.

. I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

i r i; 1% i I? 1 n1) STATES Pa nun IroLLAn'n-LETz, on OAK Pagan, ruinorshssrenon 'ro INTERNATIONAL EAR- VESTELB, COMPANY or new museum, is oonronariolv 01?. nnwzrnnsnr,

JPLATFOBMJATCH FOR REAPERE'.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUDI-loLLAND-Ln'rz a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Platform Latches for Reapers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification. o n

My invention relates to platform latches for reapers. n n

It has for its object to improve these latches in such a manner as to, enable the platform of a reaper to be attached to the stub axle thereof with greater certainty and with greater facility. A more specific object of my invention is to improve the attaching means by which the platform is attached to the stub axle after thereaper platform has been lowered to operative position, in such a manner thatthe parts may notbe accidentally left in unattached position by a careless operator. I attain these objects by providing an improved arrangement and construction of attaching means, the same being. carried upon the platform at a point adjacent the pivot thereof and above the end of the stub axle and operable fromthe top of the reaper platform withja certain definite movement.

In order that my invention may be clearly and fully disclosed, I have illustrated one embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings.

1 In these drawings: 1 Figurel shows a reaper of standard construction equipped with my improvement, the reaper platform being shown in its op erative position in full lines and in its inoperative position in dotted lines Fig. 2 is adetail plan view of the mechanism on the uppersurface of the reaper platform; i 1 i i j Fig. 3 isa sectional view taken substantially on lines 3+3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow,the parts being in attached position; l

Fig. 4: is a detail view taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 5 is a bottom sectional view taken substantially online 5-5 ofFig. 3, the parts being in detached position.

lhe reapershown 1830f standard construction, including a frame lhaving the usual reaper head 2 thereon, the frame being Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Au is, 1918..

Application filed name ea. 1916. Serial to. 85,909.

mounted upon a mainwheel 3 and having the usual reaper platform 4: plvotally connected thereto at- 5 so that this platform may be raised to the dotted or inoperative position shown in Fig. 1., As in the usual construction, a transport wheel 6 ismounted upon a stub axle 7 beneath the outer end of this platform, and an adjustable leg or support 8 is alsocarried upon the frame 1 at a .point substantially beneaththe pivot of thjeplatform, which leg is movable into supporting position prior .to the lifting of the platform A second stub axle 9 is also earned uponthe frame 1 and protrudes laterally: beneath the platform 4 so that, in preparing the machine for transport, the Wheel 6 may be removed from its stub axle ,7 and placed thereon after the platform has been braced in its raised position. As usual, of course, the leg 8 is thrown up after the Wheel has been placed upon the aXle 9.

n In :my improved construction a bracket having a horizontally disposed tubular member 10is fixed to the underside of the platform 4;,and this tubular member is provided with'a lower cut-away portion 11 so that when the platform is lowered the member lOmay rest upon the end of the axle 9. Within this tubular member is carried a sleeve member 12 of substantially rectangular cross section andhaving an open top at one end thereof adapted to be reciprocated in the member 10 so that its open topped end 13 passes under and alongside the end of the axle and with member 10 holds the platform and stub axle securely together, as shown in Fig. 3, inwardly extending lugs 14 being provided in the member 12 to limit the movement thereof relative to. the axle. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, this member 12 is provided with a racksurface 15 at one side thereof meshing with a pinion 17 which extends through the open side 18 in the upper surface of the member 12, and this pinion 17 is provided witha sleeve portion 1910a];-

naled in the upstanding sleeve 20 preferably formed integral with the member 10. (Jae ried ina suitable recess 21 inthe upper end of this member 19 is a coiledspring 22 which normally presses upwar'd the short end of intermediateits ends, as at 2 1, to the member191 As shown, the opposite end of this operating member 23 is provided. with a lat upward movement thereof by the-spring 22 erally extending handle 25 slightly curved in .such a manner as to facilitate grasping of the same by an operator. Cooperating with the upstanding lug 26 on the short end of this member 23 is a top plate 27 preferably formed integral with the member 19 and.

resting ,on the upper surface of the platform. As shown, this plate 27 has a slot 28 provided therein so arranged as to permit the short projection carrying arm of the member 23 to be depressed therein when the handle 25 has been raised. The platform 4 is provided with a circular opening 29 to permit free rotary movement of the member 19. Disposed above all of this slot 28,, except a portion at each end thereof, is an overlying plate30 attached to the top of the platform and preferably having a raised semi-circular guiding portion31 thereon engageable with the lug.26 ai'id'limiting the until the member 23 has been rotated to such an extent as to move the member 13 to one of its limits in the open side 18 of the mem ber 12, when the spring will force the lug 26'upward and automatically lock the parts in position.

In the operation of the device, when the platform 4 is lowered into the down position shown infull lines in Fig. 1, themember 13 'is in the retracted position shown in Fig. 5. All that it is then necessary to do to throw the member 13 into holding position, wherein it connects the platform and the axle, is

to rotate the member 23 whereupon, through the pinion 17 the member 13 will be reciprocated into its axle engaging position shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted that when the member 23 is in the unlocked position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.2, the spring 22 is compressed, the lug 26 being held down by the portion 31, and that when'the rack member completes its normal movement, this lug 26 on the member 23 has passed out from under the portion 31 of the plate 30 so that the lug may be projected into locking position by .the spring and the handle 25 lowered automatically as soon as it isreleased, as shown by full lines in said figure. 0b viously, by the use of such a device, whenever the member 23 may not be moved through its normal complete movement, the operator will know that for some reason there is not the proper registry of the member 13 and the stub axle and will take steps to-correct the trouble before the machine is moved forward in the field. The member 13 and the stub axle 9 are shown-in Fig. 5 in proper registry for the correct operation of the device.

I In connection with my improved construction, attention is also directed to the fact that the adjusting means is very conveniently located, access being had to the same from the top of the platform. It is also to be be exceedingly durable in service.

\Vhile I have in this application specifically described one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it is, of

course, to be understood that this form of the same is used for purposes of illustration and thatthe invention may be modified and assume other forms without departing from its spirit, it being my intention to include all such modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a reaper, a frame, a reaper platform thereon,-a stub axle disposed beneath said platform, means for attaching said axle to said platform and operating means therefor carried on the upper surface of said platform.

2. In a reaper, a frame, a reaper platform thereon, a. stub axle disposed beneath said platform, a reciprocating .axle engaging member carried beneath said platform, and operating means therefor carried on the upper surface of said platform.

3. In a reaper, a frame, a reaper platform thereon, a stub axle disposed beneath said platform, a reciprocating axle engaging member carried beneath said platform, and operating means therefor including a rotatable operating member normally disposed substantially fiush with the surface of said platform.

4. In a reaper, a frame, a reaper platform thereon, a stub axle disposed beneath said platform, a reciprocating sleeved rack member engageable with said axle and carried on the bottom of said platform, a pinion engaging said rack member, and means for rotating the pinion from the top of said platform.

5. In a reaper, a frame, a stub axle thereon, a platform having, a member carried in the bottom thereof disposed above the endof said axle, a member reciprocable in said member under the end of said axle, and means including rack and pinion mechanism operable from the top of said platform for reciprocating said member.

6. In combination, a frame, an adjustable platform thereon, a support extending beneath said platform, a movable attaching member on said platform engageable with said support, and means for positively operating said attaching member to lock said platform in operative position on said support, said operating means having a predetermined movement and being completely operable to attach said platform to said support only when said support and said attaching member are in register with each other.

7. In combination, a frame, an adjustable platform thereon, a support extending beneath said platform, a movable attaching member on said platform engageable with said support, positive operating means therefor having a predetermined movement and completely operable to attach said platform to said support only when said support and said attaching member are in register with each other, and means for normally holding said operating meansat one of the ends of its limit of movement.

8. In a reaper, a frame, a stub axle thereon, a platform carried on said frame, a rack member having a sleeve portion projectable longitudinally of said axle, a pinion engageable with said rack member and having an upwardly extending body portion, an operating member pivoted on said body portion and rotatable therewith, and. resilient means normally holding said operating member in a predetermined position.

9. In a reaper, a frame, a stub axle thereon, a platform carried on said frame, a rack member having a sleeve portion projectable longitudinally of said axle, a pinion engageable with said rack member and having an upwardly extending body portion, and an operating member pivoted thereto and rotatable therewith normally disposed substantially flush with the upper surface of said platform.

10. In a reaper, a frame, a stub axle thereon, a platform carried on said frame, a rack member on said platform having a sleeve portion projectable longitudinally of said axle, a pinion engageable with said rack member and having an upwardly extending body portion, a rotatable operating member for said pinion pivoted thereto, said operating member having a projection thereon, means holding one end of said member depressed after movement of the same about its pivot and during a part of the rotation thereof, and means normally holding said projection in projected position.

11. In a reaper, a frame, a stub axle thereon, a platform disposed above said axle, a bracket member fixed to said platform having a horizontal sleeve portion and a vertically disposed sleeve portion, an axle supporting rack member reciproeable in the horizontal sleeve portion of said bracket, a pinion journaled in the vertically disposed sleeve portion of said bracket, and means operable from the upper surface of said platform and connected to said pinion and movable about a pivot in said platform for rotating said pinion and thereby projecting said sleeved rack member toward or from the end of said axle.

12. In a reaper, a frame, a stub axle thereon, a platform connected to said frame disposed above said axle, said platform having a recess therein, a sleeved rack member carried on said platform projectable under the end of said axle, a pinion member en gageable with said rack member, a rotatable operating member operable from the top of said platform and pivoted to said pinion member at a point intermediate its ends, a cooperating guiding member carried on said platform disposed over one end of said operating member during a part of the rotation thereof, and means for projecting the de pressed end of said member upward when it passes beyond said guiding member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LUD I-IOLLAND-LETZ.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

